Teagasc Green Cert numbers down 438 year-on-year
A decrease in distance and part-time education led to a drop in the number of Green Certificate qualifications completed with Teagasc in 2025.
According to the authority’s 2025 annual report a total of 1,647 Green Certificate qualifications were completed with Teagasc in 2025 - down from 2,085 in 2024.
Most of the decrease was in distance and part-time education, with a combined reduction of 456, according to the authority’s 2025 annual report.
Teagasc has highlighted that a decline in enrolments (166) was less than the decline in completions.
It said that this pointed to Green Cert demand potentially "stabilising after a prolonged period of high demand over the last decade.”
Earlier this year, Teagasc confirmed that it had increased some of its advisory and education charges for 2026.
This includes Green Cert fees, which will rise from €2,990 to €3,250 per learner, while the Teagasc part-time Green Cert will be €1,950 per learner, up from €1,700.
According to the Teagasc 2025 report, there were 405 full-time Green Cert completions via the Teagasc and private colleges (reduction of 29) and 47 apprenticeship completions, representing the first completion of this stream.
Teagasc also supported approximately 1,500 students in linked higher education courses.
Student and course fees income in 2025 was €3.67 million, slightly up on the €3.64 million figure for 2024.
Colleges
Teagasc also provides support to three privately owned agricultural colleges; Gurteen Agricultural College; Mountbellew Agricultural College and Salesian Agricultural College Pallaskenry.
The amount of support provided included:
| 2025 (€000's) | 2024 (€000's) | |
| Grants to private colleges | 3,147 | 3,125 |
| Salary costs of staff seconded to private colleges | 335 | 392 |
| External service provider costs for teaching services provided to private colleges | 110 | 130 |
| Totals | 3,592 | 6,647 |
The latest annual report also shows that income of €375,320 (2024: €455,716) was received from private colleges for course resources provided by Teagasc and the agreed share of Rural Development Programme course learner fees.
This included income from technological universities of €115,310 (2024: €173,508) received by Teagasc towards modules delivered in the private colleges.
Separately, Teagasc also assesses the equivalence of qualifications from agricultural further and higher programmes to determine if they meet the educational requirement to award trained farmer status for Department of Agriculture, Food and the Marine (DAFM) schemes and Revenue tax exemptions.
In 2025, 380 letters were issued by Teagasc for applicants seeking trained farmer status for Revenue tax exemptions and DAFM schemes.
